I went to my go to spot for a rainy day hike. Turned out there was more wind than rain which was both positive and negative. 

I took the loop recommended by Bandit on 10/21. Looks like they're taking out the old boardwalks. There are a lot of leaves on the trail so watch your step. Ear Therapy is a nice trail with views into a deep ravine. Keep an eye out for the cut off to Easy 8 off to the right. I felt lucky that I happened to look up at the right time to spot it. It's about 50 yards from the park border so if you miss the turn off, just backtrack and watch for the path on the other side of the pipeline. 

Easy 8 has a good sized tree across the trail just before it joins the Red Barn trail. It's kind of a big branchy mess but not hard to get around/through. 

I pushed on eventually getting to Temple Pond. By this time the wind was really picking up. I heard a BIG tree snap and fall across the pond and decided it was a good time to head home. There were a few times when the when the whirr of the wind and the snapping of branches had me running for shelter under the closest big tree. 

It got really loud with the wind in the trees so I made my way to the Main Line to get out as fast as I could. I'm happy to say only things that landed on me we're big yellow maple leaves which I actually love to see rain down from the treetops. 

All in all it was a good walk in the park. Even with all the recent rain, there was very little mud. The leaves all around reminded me of the yellow, orange and brown construction paper the kids would use to make Thanksgiving decorations. Very pretty. 

Was debating whether to post this, because there's nothing new to report. Well, maybe - I actually hiked today! No casual walk through the woods and spacing out. Not today! I had less than two hours til sunset, and I wanted to catch it at the viewpoint.

As usual, I got sidetracked more than once, and it took me an hour to get there. Saw a horse (and rider) with a dog, but that was it. Even had the viewpoint to myself! Hung out there for about an hour watching the colors change, and the moon rise over the mountains.

Then BOOM! It was over. No green flash or anything. Sun's gone, it's getting dark, and I gotta get back! The park closes at dusk, and I'm gonna be pushing it again. This is where the hiking comes in...

I took the Pipeline Trail and Beaver Lake Trail back to the boardwalks and entrance. At a fast walk (for me), I made it from the viewpoint to the parking lot in 32 minutes. So if you want to hang out and watch the sunset, you can still make it back before dusk. (If you hurry.)

Well, it might have been pushing twilight, but there was still a little orange in the sky. So that's still dusk, right?  Sorry, Dan. I did it again - closed it up for the night. Last one out...

( Dan lives in the house by the entrance. He's kinda the night watchman by default. Sometimes he'll be waiting in the parking lot, tapping his foot, wondering who that last car belongs to...)

My Goal was to finally see the elusive Bald Hill Pond, and after some following of sporatic flagging and thrashing around in the underbrush it was a success!! The trail down to the lake has not been built yet, but I just followed my GPS and topo map and made my way down there : ) TONS of ducks!! Like 50 or so Mallards!  Lots of nettles, my arms were a mess as it was so hot I didn't want to put on my jacket. . oh well. . .good little adventure!

After reading the trip reports for the last few days, I made good use of today's sun.   Me and lots of horses and their riders.  After several visits previously, I finally went to the lookout.  Lovely mountains in the distance.  One tree down Pipeline Cutoff trail, but it was easy to get around.  Lots of bikes too. Few hikers.  Stayed mostly on the main trail, pipeline cutoff, viewpoint trail, and Pipeline with a few jaunts off on unmarked trails.  Went for fungi, but found little.